Do not confuse him with that lame linguist of the 19th century. Longfellow was an ex-newsman who began teaching water safety classes in the early 1900s. Alarmed by the nation’s high drowning rate, he quit his reporting gig. He revolutionized water safety by teaching water skills in water instead of on land. Makes sense, right?

He also had some sweet swimming garb. I, for one, think we should bring back fashion trends of early Red Crossers.

Do you know what the worst feeling in the world is? Standing on the sidelines of major events, completely unable to influence the situation. The helpless sentiment gnaws and chomps at your disposition. But at the Red Cross, I’m teaching CPR, fire safety, first aid, even water safety a la the admirable Mr. Longfellow. It’s a great trade-off, and I don’t think Longfellow and I are the only ones to have made the shift.

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Also, I don't think you were merely on the sidelines as a reporter. I think that awareness is motivation and information is power, and those are two things you most definitely provided the community with.

Quite true, Joa. It was just kind of a … helpless feeling. Some mornings (I worked from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m.) I'd get home, reek of smoke and be in complete disbelief of what I had witnessed. It was weird thinking of the people who were affected by tragedy, and how rarely their situations were understood by the public.